Company Accuses Dak Prescott Of Using Machine To Sign Autographs

On the football field last season, Dak Prescott looked like a machine at times. He completed 67.8 percent of his passes -- better than Tom Brady's mark for 2016-17 -- en route to a 13-3 season that saw 11 straight wins in his rookie campaign.

Author:
WFAA.com Staff , WFAA

Published:
6:45 AM EDT July 6, 2017

Updated:
6:45 AM EDT July 6, 2017

On the football field last season, Dak Prescott looked like a machine at times. He completed 67.8 percent of his passes -- better than Tom Brady’s mark for 2016-17 -- en route to a 13-3 season that saw 11 straight wins in his rookie campaign.

But now, less than a month away from 2017 training camp, the Cowboys quarterback faces allegations that an actual machine did some of his work for him off the field.

"When the first 2016 Panini Prizm Dak Prescott autographs were received by BGS, staff noticed that something was off as the cards appeared to have been signed by an autopen or some form of mechanical means," the site reads. "Beckett Authentication’s Steve Grad noticed inconsistencies as well and the problem was brought to the attention of Panini."

Prescott joins Eli Manning as fellow NFC East quarterbacks mired in memorabilia controversy. Manning’s three-year-long battle with a memorabilia fraud lawsuit was re-kindled in April when an email was obtained apparently showing Manning asking for helmets that could pass as game-used.

Manning has denied any wrongdoing.

It’s the second fake-signature scandal for Panini, which discovered a batch of cards featuring Atlanta Falcons rookie Takkarist McKinley’s autograph were not actually signed by hand. Panini said card collectors who received those cards would receive authentic signatures.